DEAS 1083 : 2021   
ICS 83.080.01  
 
© EAC 2021                                                                                                                               First Edition 2021   
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Sweeping broom ( push brush) — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 1083:  2021  
ii © EAC  2021  – All rights reserved  
   
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Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement.  
Violators may be prosecuted . DEAS 1083: 2021  
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references )................................ ................................ ................................ ..........................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  1 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4.1.6  Bristles  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  2 
4.1.7  Block and handle  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 2 
4.2. Specific Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........................  3 
5. Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........................  3 
6 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  3 
7 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  4 
Annex  A (normative)  Determination of moisture content of wood  .................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
A.1 Test Specimen  ................................ ................................ ........................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
A.2 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...Error! Bookmark not defined . 
A.3 Calculation  ................................ ................................ ................................ .Error! Bookmark not defined.  
Annex B (normative)  Determination of pull strength  ................................ ................................ .....................  5 
B.1 General  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  5 
B.2 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  5 
Annex  C (normative)  Determination of corrosion resistance  ................................ ................................ ....... 6 
C.1 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
C.2 Results  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  6 
Annex  D (normative)  Sampling and criteria for conformity of the sweeping brooms  ...............................  7 
D.1 Scale of sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 7 
D.2 Criteria for conformity ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  7 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  8 
 DEAS 1083:  2021  
iv © EAC  2021  – All rights reserved  
   
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardiza tion, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Commit tees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards. XXXXXX.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace wi th technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 072, Plastics and related 
products ], 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1083: 2021  
 
© EAC  2021  – All rights reserved  1 
 Sweeping broom (push brush) — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft East African  Standard specifi es the requirements, sampling and test methods for sweeping b rooms 
(push brush)  
2 Normative references   
The following referenc ed documents referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content 
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated 
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (inc luding any amendments) applies.  
ISO 13061 -1, Physical and mechanical properties of wood — Test methods for small clear wood specimens 
— Part 1: Determination of moisture content for physical and mechanical tests . 
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes o f this document, the following terms and definitions apply.  
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:  
ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1  
block  
part on which the filling material “bristles” are secured  
3.2  
bristle  
stiff animal hair, feather, extruded plastic,  or natural material e.g. sisal fibre, coconut fibre, secured in a block.  
3.3  
broom  
cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff or soft fibres (often made of m aterials such as plastic, hair,  sisal fibre  or 
corn husks) which may be attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle which may be plastic, 
wooden, or metallic  
3.4  
plastic  
synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers such a s polyethylene, Polyvinyl chloride 
(PVC), nylon, high -density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Phenolic resin, 
Polypropylene, and ultra -high-molecular -weight polyethylene (UHMWPE, UHMW)  
3.5  
tuft 
bunch or cluster of bristles, usually flexible, attached or fixed closely together at the base and loose at the 
upper ends   
2 © EAC  2021  – All rights reserved  
   
 3.6  
wood 
hard fibrous material that forms the main substance of the trunk or branches of a tree or shrub  
3.7  
consignment  
quantity of brooms of the same specifications ma de available for dispatch at the same time  
3.8  
lot 
definite quantity of sweeping brushes that are  manufactured or produced under conditions that are presumed 
uniform  
3.9 
brush  
consists of the block and the bristles  
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
4.1.1 The brooms shall have smooth finish and all t heir components (block, bristles  and handle) shall be 
free from imperfections and defects which may affec t the appearance or impair the ir serviceability .  
4.1.2  Plastic components shall be made of plastic which does not significantly deflect while  the broom  is in 
use 
4.1.3  Wooden components shall be free from brashness, any biological or non -biological deterioration, 
insect attack, pith , knots (except pin knots), cracks and any other defect that may reduce the life of the brush 
and affect its utility.  
4.1.4  The broom shall consist  of a brush and a handle  
4.1.5 The brooms may be in various colours, designs and sizes  
4.1.6 Bristles  
4.1.6 .1 The bristles shall be made of animal hair, plastic , natural material su ch as coconut fibre, sisal 
fibre or any other suitable materials . 
4.1.6 .2 The bristles shall be of uniform length, size, quantity and of the same material.  
4.1.6 .3 The bristles shall not be loose and shall be firmly secured in the block using nails, wires , staples 
or any suitable glue  
4.1.7  Block and handle  
4.1.7 .1 Material used for making the block and handle  shall be made of plastic, metal, wood or any 
suitable material.  
4.1.7.2 Handles shall be firmly attached to the block  
4.1.7 .3 The wooden portion of block and handle shall be smooth ly finished and suitably vanished, 
wrapped  or painted   
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  3 
 4.1.7.4  Dimensions of the block and handle shall be as per the agreement between the supplier and 
purchaser.  
4.1.7.5  Metallic handles shall be insulated  
4.2. Specific Req uirements  
4.2.1  The sweeping brush shall conform to the requirements given in Table 1 when tested in accordance 
with the test methods specified therein  
Table 1. Specific requirements for sweeping brooms  
Characteristic  Requirement  Test 
method  wooden  plast ic 
Moisture content, %, 
max 15 - ISO 13061 -1 
Tuft Strength, N  No pulling out of an individual tuft  
from the block shall be observed  Annex A  
Strength of the bristles in  
a tuft  Not more than 2% of the bristles 
subjected to the tensile load shall be 
extracted before the force reaches 50.0 N 
in approximately 15 s  Annex A  
 
4.2.2  When metal is used as any of the com ponents of the broom , it shall be corrosion -resistant or shall be 
protected against corrosion when t ested in accordance with Annex B . 
5 Packagin g 
Sweeping b rooms shall be packaged in appropriate materials that shall protect the  product integrity  during 
transportation and storage.  
6 Labelling  
6.1 The sweeping broom  shall be legibly and indelibly labelled  in English and/or any other official langua ge 
(French, Kiswahili  etc.) of the importing East African country  with the following information:  
a) Name of the manufacturer and /or trademark;  
b) Batch number; and  
c) Code of resin if plastic material is used.  
6.2 The package shall be legibly and indelibly labelle d in English and/or any other official language (French, 
Kiswahili  etc.) of the importing East African country with the following information  : 
a) Name of product “Sweeping broom ”; 
b) Country of origin;  
c) Batch number   
4 © EAC  2021  – All rights reserved  
   
 6.3 The bulk package shall be legibly and ind elibly labelled  in English and/or any other official language 
(French,  Kiswahili  etc.) of the importing East African country with the following information : 
a) manufacturer’s name, physical address and /or registered trade mark;  
b) name of the product as, “ Sweep ing broom ”; 
c) declaration of the number of sweeping brooms  in the bulk package;  
d) batch or code number;  
e) instruction for storage and disposal of the bulk packaging material ; and  
f) country of origin.  
7 Sampling  
Sweeping brooms shall be randomly sa mpled in accorda nce with Annex C . Any sample of sweeping brooms 
randomly selected from a consignment shall comply with the requirements of this standard and shall be a 
representative of the entire consignment  
  
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  5 
 Annex A  
(normative)  
 
Determination of P ull out Force  
A.1 Gener al 
A simp le instrument as shown in Fig. A 1 can be used for testing the pull strength. This unit is suitable for 
mounting on wall. It consists of dial force gauge /weighing scale (0 -10 kg) operating on spring (A) mounted on 
wooden plate (B). A tubular tuft holder (C) is hung on the hook of dial gauge. A clamp for holding brush (E) is 
provided which is movable downward and upward with a screw (F). The dial force gauge/weighing scale shall 
be calibrated having traceability  
A.2 Procedure  
A.2.1 Fix a brush with bristles in upward direction in the brush holder with the help of sc rew (G).  
A.2.2 Insert all bristles of one tuft  in the hole provided at the bottom of tubular tuft holder (C). Care should 
be taken not to allo w bristles from adjacent tufts  to enter in to the hole. Fix the bristles firmly with the help of 
screw (D ). 
A.2.3 Adjust the pointer on dial to zero by adjustment of screw (F).  
A.2.4 Move down the brush holder slowly with screw (F) watching the pointer on dial carefully till it reaches 
5 kg mark and k eep it there for 1 min. Then remove the brush from the gadget and exami ne. The bristles of 
any tuft shall not come out during the test.  
Note: The tufts shall not fail when subjected to a pull by thumb and finger grip or the force required for pulling 
out a n individual tuft shall not be less than 50.0 N for 15 seconds  
NOTE  — any other appropriate instrument for det ermination of the pull out force available may also be used  
 
Fig. A 1 Instrument for determination of pull strength  
.  
6 © EAC  2021  – All rights reserved  
   
 Annex  B 
(normative)  
 
Determin ation of corrosion resistance  
B.1 Procedure  
Submerge all metal components for 7 h in distilled water, then dry them as rapidly as possible at a 
temperature not exceeding 70 °C and examine the surfaces that are required to be corrosion resistant for 
freedom  from corrosion.  
B.2 Results  
The surfaces shall show no sign of corrosion   
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  7 
 Annex  C 
(normative)  
 
Sampling and criteria for conformity of the sweeping brooms  
C.1 Scale of sampling  
C.1.1 lot — In any consignment, all the brushes of the same size and quality s hall be divided into groups of 
500 brushes or less and each such group shall constitute a lot. Care shall be taken to ensure that brushes 
included in a lot do not differ in construction as far as possible.  
C.1.2 the conformity of the brushes in a lot to th e requirements of this specification shall be ascertained for 
each lot separately. The number of brushes to be selected for this purpose shall be in accordance with Table 
2. 
Table.C 1 — Scale of sampling sweeping brooms  
S/N Number of brooms in the lot  
(N) Number of brooms  to be selected  
(n) 
I.  Up to 1 0 2 
II.  11 to 25  3 
III.  26 to 50  4 
IV.  51 to 100  5 
V.  101 to 150  6 
VI.  151 to 300  7 
VII.  301 to 500  8 
 
C.1.3 the brushes shall be selected at random. To ensure randomness of selection one of the following 
procedures, whichev er is suitable, may be followed  
a) If all the brushes in a lot are packed in one box, then starting from any brush, count them in any 
suitable order as 1, 2.........,up  to r and so on, where r is the integral part of N/n ( N and n being the lot 
size and sampl e size, respectively), Every rth brush thus counted shall be withdrawn to constitute the 
sample.  
b) If the brushes in a lot are packed in more than one box, approximately equal number of brushes shall 
be picked up at random from as many boxes as possible so a s to obtain the required number of  
brushes as specified in Table C 1. 
C.2 Criteria for conformity  
C.2.1 for declaring the conformity of the lot to the requirements of this specification, all the  brushes selected 
according to C.1.2 and C .1.3 shall satisfy th e relevant requirements given in clause 4   
8 © EAC  2021  – All rights reserved  
   
 Bibliography  
[1] IS 2622, Specification for brush, banister (hand sweeping),  
[2] TZS 1095: 2017 , Sweeping brooms — Specification  
[3] US 2226: 2021, Sweeping broom (push brush) — Specification  DEAS 1083:  2021    
  
 
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved